Relations between the United States and China now have “more solid foundations”, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday, optimistic after a four-day trip to Beijing aimed at easing tensions between the two world’s largest powers. .
Arriving in the Chinese capital on Thursday, Mme Yellen was received by several senior government officials, including Premier Li Qiang, and continued to plead for more exchanges and collaborations despite the differences.
“Overall, I believe that my bilateral meetings – which lasted a total of ten hours over two days – were a step forward in our efforts to establish the relationship between the United States and China on more solid foundations,” she said Sunday at a press conference at the US Embassy.
This visit, the first of Mme Yellen since taking office in 2021, comes a few weeks after that of Secretary of State Antony Blinken and marks the Biden administration’s desire to stabilize strained bilateral relations.
“Both nations have an obligation to manage this relationship responsibly: find a way to live together and share global prosperity,” said the Treasury Secretary, stressing the “vital” importance of high-level contacts.
“We believe the world is big enough for our two countries to prosper.”
If no major progress has been communicated, the official Xinhua News Agency pointed out that the meeting on Saturday between Mme Yellen and Deputy Prime Minister He Lifeng agreed on “strengthening communication and cooperation to face global challenges”.
“Major disagreements”
The US Treasury Secretary admittedly acknowledged on Sunday that there are “significant disagreements” between the two countries, but she assured that the discussions in Beijing were “direct, substantial and productive”.
The main sticking point is in semiconductors, with the imposition in recent months of restrictions to cut off Chinese companies’ supply of American technology, including chips.
China, which seeks to become autonomous in this area, believes that these measures are aimed at hindering its development and maintaining American supremacy.
The United States will continue to carry out “targeted actions” to preserve its national security, warned Mr.me Yelen.
But “it is important to note that these actions are motivated by simple national security considerations. We do not use them to gain economic advantage.”
She also expressed Washington’s “serious concerns” about Beijing’s “unfair trade practices”.
These include barriers to entry for foreign companies into the Chinese market and issues related to intellectual property protection.
“I have also raised my concerns about the recent upsurge in enforcement action against American companies,” she said, referring to raids and investigations targeting audit firms in recent months. China.
Optimism and enthusiasm
If Mme Yellen is already showing his optimism, “the announcement of any concrete progress and any major result will probably be reserved for the two main leaders”, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, said Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center. .
But she points out that “the two parties have not had this level of communication and consultation for several years”.
Last month, Joe Biden said he was confident in an upcoming meeting with his Chinese counterpart.
For Lindsay Gorman, of the American think tank German Marshall Fund, “the main objective of this trip is really to send a message” to “allies and partners of the United States, both in the region and in the world”. .
Mme Yellen notably advocated, during his trip, “healthy economic competition, not the law of the strongest, with a fair set of rules, which can benefit both countries”.
Generally speaking, China’s attitude towards the US Treasury Secretary seems “more enthusiastic” than during Blinken’s visit, noted Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University.
“Mme Yellen is seen as a professional in the eyes of the Chinese, and her attitude towards economic and trade relations between China and the United States is relatively rational,” he added, noting that she opposes the decoupling between the two economies.
Taylor Fravel, of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), however, calls for moderating optimism: “I don’t think that a single visit or interaction can alone achieve the goal of stabilizing relations”.
But it shows a desire for continued economic cooperation between Washington and Beijing, “despite political friction in the relationship and competitive actions to limit China’s access to certain technologies such as semiconductors.”